Opposition parties in the Free State and nationally have strongly criticised the 2024 State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the last SONA of the sixth administration to the joint sitting of the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces at the Cape Town City Hall on Thursday evening (8/2). He highlighted government achievements since the dawn of democracy, making many promises, including tackling the high unemployment rate, crime, and state capture.

Ramaphosa also mentioned that the worst rolling blackouts were behind South Africa following regulatory reforms. Free State EFF Chairperson Mapheule Liphoko said SONA 2024 was just an extended caucus of the ruling party. EFF President, Julius Malema, and other EFF members were barred from attending SONA.

President Cyril Ramaphosa. Photo: www. stateofthenation.gov.za 

“We would like to … speak against this approach of an undemocratic nature in the democratic government where political parties and people who have descending views at any platform including SONA will be pushed away from entering the structures where they were elected to be,” he said.

DA MP Werner Horn said that SONA offered no tangible plans and programmes to improve the country’s woes. Ramaphosa decided to compare the state of the country now with that of 1994, rather than to defend the ruling party’s record of poor service delivery and lack of progress over the last five years.

Werner Horn. Photo: pa.org.za.jpg

Ramaphosa also spoke of a fictional child of democracy, named Tintswalo, whose life has been improved in 30 years of ANC-led government.

FF Plus leader Dr. Pieter Groenewald said Ramaphosa “unequivocally demonstrated with his State of the Nation Address that both he and the ANC government have lost touch with the reality of the problems faced by ordinary South Africans every day. He does not know what ordinary South Africans know.”

Dr Pieter Groenewald. Picture: vfplus.org.za 

Loadshedding is but one example. “Last year, the president promised that by the end of 2023 load shedding (would) be a thing of the past. There is still no sign of that, though. Maybe someone should tell him that this is 2024 already.”

Groenewald said the president “painted a wonderful picture of job creation and prosperity. However, the reality is that nearly 40% of all South Africans and more than 60% of the country’s youth are unemployed.

‘Nothing came of it’

“In the past, he promised high-speed trains, smart cities, and new dams. Nothing came of it. He boasted about great achievements regarding infrastructure, crime-free environments, and healthcare at state hospitals being so good that patients prefer to be treated there rather than at private hospitals,” Groenewald said.

“Nothing can be further removed from reality. The FF Plus recently published a comprehensive report on the utter decline of state hospitals and the terrible conditions patients are subjected to. The HRC is busy investigating the matter.”

OFM News/ Kekeletso Mosebetsi